Kimberly Anyadike, 15, stands outside her plane after her cross-country flight (July 11, 2009) |
COMPTON-- A 15 year old girl from Compton became the youngest African-American female to fly solo across the country Saturday.
Kimberly Anyadike navigated a single-engine Cessna from Los Angeles to Newport News, VA, making about a dozen stops along the way. She returned home Saturday morning, touching down at Compton's Woodley Airport to a cheering crowd.
Anyadike took off from Compton 13 days ago for her cross-country venture with an adult safety pilot and Levi Thornhill, an 87-year old former Tuskegee Airman who served during World War II.
"I wanted to inspire other kids to really believe in themselves," Anyadike said.
Part of her goal for her trip was to honor the Tuskegee Airmen, the U.S. Army Air Corps' all-black combat unit who served during World War II. During her periodic stops across the continent, she met about 50 original Tuskegee Airmen, who autographed her plane.
"They left such a great legacy. I had big shoes to fill," Anyadike said. "All they wanted to do was to be patriots for this country. They were told no, that they were stupid, that they didn't have cognitive development to fly planes. They didn't listen. They just did what they wanted to do."
The small plane Anyadike flew belongs to Tomorrow's Aeronautical Museum, the Compton-based after-school program where she and other kids learned to fly though their after-school aviation training program for at-risk youth.
The tails of the Cessna Anyadike flew cross-country are painted red, much like the historical Tuskegee Airmen planes.
Kimberly Anyadike navigated a single-engine Cessna from Los Angeles to Newport News, VA, making about a dozen stops along the way. She returned home Saturday morning, touching down at Compton's Woodley Airport to a cheering crowd.
Anyadike took off from Compton 13 days ago for her cross-country venture with an adult safety pilot and Levi Thornhill, an 87-year old former Tuskegee Airman who served during World War II.
"I wanted to inspire other kids to really believe in themselves," Anyadike said.
Part of her goal for her trip was to honor the Tuskegee Airmen, the U.S. Army Air Corps' all-black combat unit who served during World War II. During her periodic stops across the continent, she met about 50 original Tuskegee Airmen, who autographed her plane.
"They left such a great legacy. I had big shoes to fill," Anyadike said. "All they wanted to do was to be patriots for this country. They were told no, that they were stupid, that they didn't have cognitive development to fly planes. They didn't listen. They just did what they wanted to do."
The small plane Anyadike flew belongs to Tomorrow's Aeronautical Museum, the Compton-based after-school program where she and other kids learned to fly though their after-school aviation training program for at-risk youth.
The tails of the Cessna Anyadike flew cross-country are painted red, much like the historical Tuskegee Airmen planes.
